What is a low-FODMAP diet?

What You Need to Know and How to Follow a FODMAP diet

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What is the purpose of a FODMAP diet?

FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols, which are short-chain carbohydrates (sugars) that the small intestine absorbs poorly. Some people experience digestive distress after eating them. Symptoms include:
Cramping, Diarrhea, Constipation, Stomach bloating, Gas and flatulence The FODMAP diet is a three-phase approach designed to assist individuals with medically diagnosed irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in managing their symptoms. IBS is a prevalent gastrointestinal issue characterized by symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, gas, and alterations in bowel movements (including diarrhea, constipation, or both). The goals of this diet include:
  • 1. Identifying which foods and FODMAPs are well-tolerated and which ones exacerbate your IBS symptoms. This knowledge enables you to adopt a diet that is less restrictive and more nutritionally complete over the long term, limiting only those foods that provoke your IBS symptoms.

  • 2. Determining if your IBS symptoms respond to FODMAPs. Since not everyone with IBS benefits from a low FODMAP diet, it's crucial to discover whether you're part of the three-quarters of individuals with IBS who see symptom improvement on this diet, or if you're among the one-quarter who do not see an improvement and may need to explore alternative treatments for IBS.



What can I eat on the low-FODMAP diet?

Various fruits, vegetables, grains, and proteins have different levels of FODMAPs, with some being high and others low. Consuming small quantities of certain foods may not cause issues, but larger servings might. For instance, while legumes and processed meats generally contain high levels of FODMAPs, options like plain-cooked meats, tofu, and eggs offer low-FODMAP protein alternatives. Fruits such as apples, watermelon, and stone fruits are rich in FODMAPs, whereas grapes, strawberries, and pineapples are more tolerable. A ripe banana is fructose-rich, yet consuming up to one-third of it chopped into your cereal is manageable, or you can eat a whole banana if it’s slightly underripe. A dietitian can offer tailored advice and specific dietary guidelines to manage your intake effectively.





Which high FODMAP foods are the best to avoid?

This is the question that you’ll need to answer for yourself during the process of the low-FODMAP diet. The answer will be different for everyone. The point of the diet is not to deprive you of “bad” foods but to find out if your symptoms are related to FODMAPs or not — and if they are, which ones. Some people may not improve at all on the elimination phase. If you don't, there’s no reason to follow through to the next phase. But if you do, it will be very important to reintroduce foods in a systematic way to separate the real offenders from foods that you can tolerate. Many people find in the end that it’s only one or two of the FODMAP food groups that bother them. The ultimate goal of the diet is to widen your dietary options as much as possible.